


Missed Connection

by redandwhiteroses



Series: Hotline Scream [2]
Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Dark, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, Murder, Physical Abuse, Reader-Insert, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:28:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29008329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redandwhiteroses/pseuds/redandwhiteroses
Summary: Summary: You know the Entity had a reason for dragging you into the Fog. You could never figure out why. An old friend is more than happy to remind you.Connected to Triple Trouble but can be read as a one-shot
Relationships: Danny "Jed Olsen" Johnson | The Ghost Face/Reader
Series: Hotline Scream [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128059
Kudos: 56





	Missed Connection

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: A Lot. Major character death (but not permanent), canon-typical violence, graphic depiction of torture, graphic depiction of murder, abuse. Danny shows his true colors in this. A Mori is also involved. This is a DARK fic

The air is cold.

It’s always the first thing you feel when being pulled into a Trial. The air. No matter where you go, every realm is a stark contrast to the campfire. Most maps are chilly. Anything in the swamp and the saloon are the only two places the air isn’t on the cold side. You know the feel of the swamp right away; it’s sticky and hot and cloying. All of the humidity of a swamp without any relief that night usually brings. The saloon is odd. It starts dry and hot but cools rapidly as the trial progresses. You aren’t sure if that’s the Entity mimicking the weather conditions outside of this hellscape or if it’s how the Deathslinger remembers it. You’re not sure if you’d get an answer if you asked.

This cold is... It’s not Ormund cold. You don’t feel like you’re walking into a snowstorm. It’s colder than others, though. Maybe it’s about to snow? Something else, too. A different kind of cold. You open your eyes, and ah. You were right. The ground has a very thin layer of snow blanketing it. You can see some flakes falling. The other source is from the open doors in front of you. Something similar to AC but not quite comes blasting at full force from the building.

You bite down on your tongue to suppress a groan. You look to your left. You let a small smile grace your face.

“Adam!” You perk up, the delight evident in your voice. Despite the match just starting, you know better than to speak too loudly. Adam smiles in response. The two of you pad over to the door together.

“I fucking hate Lery’s.” You groan as the two of you step into the old hospital. Adam lets out a soft noise of amusement. 

“Not my favorite either.” He murmurs in response. His eyes are darting from side to side, already becoming hypervigilant. 

“I just came from a trial with Myers.” You assure him. His shoulders visibly lower some. “I don’t think that’s the game the Entity wants to play right now.”

You know for a fact that this killer isn’t going to be Michael. A feeling deep within your gut tells you so. You just aren't sure who. You know that the pull this time was different, more malicious. As if the Entity had something terrible planned for you. You had seen a flash of light, the type from a camera, and heard a click before you'd been pulled under. You move and wince. Your back hurts like hell, as if old wounds were reopening. Adam looks at you. The terror shifts into a much softer expression.

"Do you still not know? He asks. 

“Nope.” You shake your head. You don’t remember much of what happened before... this. You remember two boys who broke your heart and another man. That’s where things got foggy. Everytime you think of this man, things get hazy. You remember that he was dangerous, and you remember he helped you somehow. He wasn’t kind or nice; he was clever and manipulative. Yet he seemed to be as nice as he could be towards you, as if he had some sort of soft spot for you. It made you think of Kill Bill with how Bill only made an effort to be sweet when it came to the Bride. Well, until he shot her. Something about that comparison seems too on-the-nose, though, so you don’t linger on the thought. You know that you were running away from someone or something, but it wasn’t serious. Yet it was at the same time. A deadly game seemed to be the best way to describe it. 

It had been a foggy morning. When you were taken. You were looking at a newspaper article about how a man, The Man, had disappeared. The article made your head hurt and not in a pleasant way. Like the beginnings of a crying headache. You went into your room and pulled a shoebox filled with pictures from its hiding spot. You dumped them all out onto your carpet and began to comb through them. Some made you smile while others made that pounding in your head worse. You must have left a window open because the fog began to seep into the room. As the fog began to curl around you and get denser, your vision got weird. You kept on seeing flashes of light, the kind that come from a camera, and your hands were red and sticky. The room began to smell more and more like blood and rot and cold and Death. 

When you came to, you were at the campfire. The photos were gone, and your hands were clean. You were cold, though. The campfire didn’t do much to get the chill out of your bones. Others around the campfire made their way to you when you started to move.

The beeping of the monitor and loud static brings you back. You wrinkle your nose as you step over a reddish-brown stain on the floor. Despite the blood being old and dry, it still smelled fresh. The smell of iron was strong. Adam makes a noise to get your attention. You look at him.

“Generator.” It’s not that far off. The two of you walk your way over to it, taking care to crouch some. The annoying clacking got louder as the two of you approached it. Thankfully, it seemed to be a three person generator. Adam took one side while you took the other. You liked working with Adam. Some survivors were too talkative. Some seemed almost too nervous to speak with you. You liked Adam for a lot of reasons. He clearly chose his words carefully when he spoke, he was well-educated, and he knew when to take calculated risks. A small smile makes its way onto your face. The first trial you were in with him, the Hag had seemed to be right on your ass. You had hid, but you knew that she was going to find you. Then, a sound distracted her. She went off in that direction. The sound had been Adam throwing a pebble. He admitted later that it didn’t always work, but he felt it was worth a shot.

As you worked, you took a moment to close your eyes. There was a way to see how the other survivors were doing, but you had to close your eyes to see it. You shake your head. It doesn’t tell you much other than everyone seems to be doing okay. Some weird sort of aura seems to be coming from one of the others, but you’re not sure what to make of it.

You know what to make of it soon enough. The generator comes to life, light flooding the area. You and Adam nod at each other before heading different directions. No doubt the killer would show up any moment now. You’re making your way towards the center of the map. Maybe you can get the generator in the middle quickly. A loud yelp of pain comes out of nowhere. Not the yelp of being hit but the one when someone gets knocked to the ground. You grind to a halt. That’s not good. You hadn’t heard anyone get hit, and everyone was at full health not too long ago. Whomever the four of you were up against, they had a one hit down. Not to mention, you were close to them. You crouch and move over to the wall, flattening yourself against it. It had sounded like Kate was the unfortunate victim. You peer around the corner, trying to see if the coast is clear. A loud scream rings out. Your eyes widen. It was Kate who got hooked. At least you were decently close to her. You could probably get her off the hook safely. You would need to wait, though, until you were sure the killer was far enough away. You move quickly and quietly across the hall to the other side of the doorway. You hazard a peek around the corner.

The hallway you look down leads to one of the bigger halls that border the hospital. Kate is on the hook, forcing herself to stay limp. Something is moving in the grass. You hope it’s Claudette and not a killer. You weren’t up to go against Amanda right now. The figure stops, as if he knows he’s been spotted. A chilling breath sounds in your ears, and you shudder. You can see Adam around the other corner. He’s closer to Kate than you are. You nod to him before stepping out into the hallway, hitting the wall with your shoulder to make as much noise as possible.Not that you needed to do that. The elongated white mask, which thank God it wasn’t Amanda, is facing in your direction. For whatever reason, the mask alone sends a chill and a familiar zing up your spine. 

The cloaked figure stands slowly. 

Your eyes widen. You... 

It feels all too familiar. The way he stands up and looks at you. He tilts his head, and you don’t have to see his face to know that he’s grinning from ear to ear. Your heart beat intensifies. It feels like it’s all you can hear. The robes are the same as you remember them. The mask is the same. You can see a camera strapped to one wrist and a knife in the other hand. Your breath is coming quicker now. It feels like you might pass out. Your feet feel stuck, though. The cloaked man then waves at you. 

You know. You know who it is.

“J- Danny.” Danny. That was his real name. Not Jed like he had told you when you first met. All of your memories are slamming into place with a force so hard you’re surprised you don’t topple over to the floor. Danny had been the man in those photos you were looking at when you were sucked into this realm. Danny had been the one in the newspaper, although they called him Jed in that. He’d been the one at the hospital and the house and the park and the-

He says your name. 

Danny says your name.

The inflection makes your skin crawl. It does sound as if he's genuinely happy to see you, but it's not entirely pleasant. The dark tone is evident. It’s the tone of a man who has spent all of his free time thinking about the ways that he can hurt you, both little and small, when your paths cross again.

“Missed you.” He practically purrs. You can tell he winks at you.

Finally, you find your feet. With speed you didn’t even know you had, you launch yourself down the hall. 

You don't have to look behind you to know Danny is chasing you. You aren't sure where you're running and how you're going to lose him. You’re just moving as fast as you can. You can’t stop to think. If you stop to think or plan, you’re dead. You whip around a corner so fast that you slide across the floor for a moment, nearly toppling over. You don’t, thank God. You see a pallet. You aim towards it. Behind you, you can hear Danny breathing. He’s closer now. You push yourself to go faster. A tingle runs up your spine, letting you know they got Kate off the hook. Good. Maybe you can play distraction long enough for them to get a generator or two done. You reach the pallet. The knife makes a noise as it arcs through the air. You slam the wooden pallet down as soon as you’re on the other side, knowing that Jed is close enough for it to smack him. He makes a noise and stumbles back several paces. 

You step back away from the pallet and stare at him over it. Your side, just shy of your back, hurts. You touch it, and your fingers come away covered in blood.

All of your instincts are telling you to run, but you can buy your teammates time. He’s not going to be able to resist taunting you. He stares at you over the pallet. Your chest heaves with each breath.

“What did you have to do to get me in a trial with you, huh?” You speak first. If you can get him talking, maybe you can stall long enough for them to get at least one generator done. He laughs. It makes your skin crawl.

“Stalling, huh?” A teasing lilt enters his voice. “Even after everything, you like to pretend you're a good guy. That you’re selfless. You and I? We both know better.”

“I can be better than I was.” You press on your side, hoping that applying pressure will make it easier for you to heal the wound. Assuming you get the chance to do so. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Oh, you know. Wrote a letter to Santa Clause telling him I’d been really good this year.” Even though you can’t see his face through the mask, you can hear the feral grin. “What do you think?”

You shift your weight from foot to foot. Your eyes dart from side to side, trying to figure out which way would be faster out of this loop. A shockwave of light with a loud click sound surges through the arena. You smile. Two down, three to go. You don’t think you can run him for four gens, but you’ll be damned if you don’t try. Danny tilts his head and regards you for a moment.

“Let me help you make a decision.” His tone is condescending. Danny raises his foot. You take off before he finishes kicking the pallet. You wait for him to go through the area the pallet used to be before you turn. You practically dive through the nearest window. You can hear him running around to the door of the small room. Thankfully, you’re in one of the rooms with two windows, so you dive out the second one and haul ass.

“Kid.” You don’t know where Bill is, but you can hear him. You keep on running. You don’t have time to look. You keep running. Danny’s footsteps are getting closer. You hear Bill swear, and you see him move to start running. You keep on moving. You know that Danny isn’t going to pay any attention to them. Bill starts to run in the opposite direction. True to your prediction, Danny doesn’t let up. You take a turn and then another, Danny getting closer and closer. You dodge his attacks the best you can, you try to push yourself farther faster, but you know that it’s only a matter of time before you get hit. You see another pallet and are headed for it. Danny’s knife hits you right between your shoulder blades. You let out a scream as you hit the ground.

Danny laughs. He at least sounds out of breath. He deftly plucks the knife from between your vertebrae. You try to push yourself up enough so that you can crawl, but he places a boot right on top of the wound. He bears down with all of his weight, and you yowl. He chuckles. The pain is so much that you need a minute after he lets up. You don’t have time to try again. He grabs you and slings you over his shoulder.

“Let’s see. Where do I have the best sightlines...?” He muses as he heads towards a hook. You snarl. You kick and punch at him. He makes a noise when you hit him in the solar plexus but doesn’t drop you. You aim for that stop again. He lets go of you intentionally, and you fall to the ground. You try to twist, hoping to grab his foot and bite before he can touch you again. It doesn’t work. You roll, and he plants his boot on your side. The side that he’d slashed earlier. You bite down on your tongue to hold in your scream. 

Danny downright chuckles. He moves his boot for a second. His knee goes right under where his foot had been as he kneels down. You think you might be able to throw him off, but he’s two steps ahead of you. He brings one of his hands down to the nasty gash on your side and digs his fingers into it. You feel blood running out of your mouth as you bite down hard on your tongue to keep from screaming. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. He grunts, clearly displeased. He hooks his fingers into the side of the wound and under your skin. 

That makes you scream.

You nearly don’t hear his delighted laugh over it.

“I have missed you so much.” Danny’s voice is filled with dark delight. You want to kick him again, but you can’t. Instead, you glare at him. You wonder what kind of deal you could cut with the Entity so that you could hunt Danny down and torture him. He clicks his tongue. “Don’t give me that look. You’ve had your chance to be like me.”

“Fuck you.” You spit. Blood hits his mask. He stares at you for a long moment. You brace yourself from him to dig his fingers into the slice, but instead, he surges forward to grab your throat. He slams one of his knees into your chest as he does so, making you wheeze.

“I taught you better than that.” He hisses. “Now I’d behave, or else I’m going to make you watch as I slice Adam up right in front of you.” He pauses. The look on your face must have betrayed you. “Yeah, I saw the way you two looked at each other. I have half a mind to send you the pictures I have of me gutting him like a fish.”

Your nostrils flare. You can feel a sneer of your own making it onto your face.

“You can’t kill me yet.” You wheeze. “You won’t even be able to hook me a second time before I get out of here.”

To emphasize your point, another surge of light pulses through the arena. Danny merely grins at you.

“I only need to hook you once.” He hisses before standing back up and throwing you over his shoulder again. Your eyes widen. You see Adam round the corner, and you shake your head. You don’t want to yell at him about the Mori because you don’t want to give up his location. He trails behind you.

Getting thrown up on a hook is never a feeling you can get used to. It always hurts just as much as it did the first time. It hurts even worse now because Danny angles you so it goes through another vertebrae. You scream. Danny steps back to admire his work. 

“You know. We could have been a lot of things, you and I.” He comments idly. 

“Yeah, yeah. We could have had it all.” It’s hard to talk. You really shouldn’t, but you can’t help yourself. Danny laughs.

“Go on. Dig yourself deeper.” He sounds positively delighted at the thought of hurting you even more. He steps back. “I’ll see you later, dear.” He steps back several more paces before crouching down and disappearing into the shadows. You don’t look at Adam. You just watch where Danny disappeared, not trusting him to be gone yet. You see someone out of the corner of your eyes. It takes you a moment to realize that Bill is the one here. He grabs you, and Kate scuttles out from around a corner as well. The two of them lift you up off the hook and help you down. You want to stand up, but Bill speaks before you can.

“He’s not coming back.” His gruff tone is even gruffer, thick with disappointment. He and Kate begin working on patching you up.

“Where’s Adam? He’s going to go after Adam.” You try not to swear as they work.

“Adam’s distracting him.” Kate’s voice is soft. The two of them finish. You stand up.

“No.” You shake your head. “The three of you can get out if I distract him.”

“Kid.” Bill glares at you. You shut your mouth. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear anything from you. Fucking a murderer.” You look to the floor. You don’t have an excuse. Kate’s expression is conflicted. She looks as if she wants to apologize for Bill’s behavior but also sides with him.

“The three of you can get out.” You repeat. “He only wants me. So.. Get Adam and get out.”

“Fine.” Bill says after a long moment. He jerks his head in the direction of a generator, and the two of them slink that way. You walk in the opposite direction. You wander towards one of the main halls, keeping your eyes peeled for Danny. You don’t see him. You imagine he’s stalking Adam now. You’re far enough away from Bill and Kate that you can start making noise. You jump in and out of a locker several times before vaulting a window loudly. It’s not long before you get the feeling you’re being watched.

Another surge. You grin. One more to go. 

“I’m beginning to think you missed me too.” Danny stands up from his crouched position at the end of the hallway. “You’re not this selfless.”

“Maybe I am now.” You respond. You prepare yourself to run. The mask tilts. You can feel the smug grin rolling off of him.

“Your boy toy helped me out.” Danny purrs. “I only have to hit you once.”

Fuck.

The air shifts, and you know that Danny is telling the truth. He stalked Adam long enough that now, he can get you down with one blow. You look to the nearest window, but the Entity must know what you’re thinking. Dark tendrils are blocking it. You look back at Danny.

“I can count you down.” He offers in his most helpful tone. “I’ll start at 10.”

You turn and run. You can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or serious. You don’t care to find out. You think you’re near the office in this place. There might be enough windows in there for you to make a quick get-away. You see the stairs. Fuck it. Those might be better. You take them two at a time. Your heartbeat begins to thunder in your ears. You reach the top of the stairs just as Danny gets to the bottom. He grins up at you. 

“You know, Danny.” You begin with an even tone. You don’t know why you’re about to be this stupid. “I’ve got something to say.”

“Oh?”

“You know why I didn’t stay? I found someone better than you.” The effect is instant. Anger rolls off of him in a wave, his shoulder tensing and hand clutching the knife harder.

“Liar.” He hisses.

“Would I lie about something like that?” Your lips twitch. “Truth of the matter is that you were weighing me down. I found someone who was my equal. I was going to be so much more than you ever were.”

You run and jump down the hole in the ceiling. You don’t have to look to know that Danny has charged up the stairs. You hit the floor and roll. You scramble to your feet just as Danny begins his freefall. You bolt. You run as fast as you can. As you do, you pray. You pray that the other three get the last generator. You know it’s probably futile, but you do it anyway. A loud noise sounds as the largest surge of light blasts. You start laughing as you run.

They can open the doors. They can get out.

Your glee is short lived. You guess what you said truly pissed Danny off because he catches up to you quicker than you expected. This time, he brings the knife all the way down your back, from the bottom of your neck to your lower back. It feels as if your back has been split in two, which you guess it has been. You fall to the floor with a yell. Danny wastes no time in straddling your lower back.

“See, now.” He begins conversationally. You can feel him shaking with rage. “This could have been quick, but you had to go and say that. I was going to be nice for once.” He shifts. He shows you the camera in his hand. “But then again, I don’t think you like me when I’m nice. I think you like it when I’m mean. And if that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get.” The cool blade pressed down on your back. You suck in a deep breath and brace yourself. This was going to fucking hurt. He pauses for a second. Danny leans forward and brushes your hair off the back of your neck gently. His touch is soft, like a lover’s. 

“You know I could never deny you.” Danny intones before jamming the knife as far into your back as it will go. Your whole body tenses. You hear a scream. It takes you a moment to realize it’s yours. Tears roll down your face as he slowly drags the knife down along your spine. You can feel snot bubbling out of your nose and blood seeping out of your mouth. Your hands scramble to try and grab him, throw him off, but you can’t. The pain is so much that you can’t move. Danny coos condescendingly. 

“It hurts, I know, but I need you to take just a little bit more. Can you do that? For me?” He chuckles darkly at the end of that. “God. Your insides are prettier than I thought they’d be.” 

He stops, having reached the top of your waist. You’re sure he can see bone. You can’t make a sound anymore. At some point, your voice gave out. You can barely register the noise of the exit gates opening. The ground shakes. Tiny orange cracks begin forming on the ground and walls. Danny doesn’t pay them any attention. Instead, he grabs the sides of the long gash he just made and wrenches the skin apart. Your head falls to the floor, and you writhe, trying to get away from him. He laughs. He shifts, no doubt reaching for his camera. Once he has it, he leans forward. He nearly drapes himself over you, molding himself to you. He pauses and then clicks his tongue. You hear more movement, but you’re barely conscious at this point.

Something hits the floor. You see his mask hit the floor. He takes a hold of your hair and yanks your head up. His left cheek is pressed against yours. His grin is feral. You can see his dark hair out of the corner of your eyes.

“You know.” He adjusts the camera just-so. “You were my first and only love. Don’t you feel special?”

The camera flashes. He wastes no time in grabbing his knife. You can barely feel it as he slides it across your throat.

“Just thought you might want to know that.”

The world goes dark.


End file.
